Sometimes it is good to try new things. It helps to shake up the senses and break one out of creative dead ends. I have lost my enthusiasm for making work about litter, thinking about litter, and picking up litter. My book 'What If ?' was not very well received when I showed a draft to an assessor at the Royal Photographic Society with a view to submitting it for the FRPS . The assessor preferred my previous books such as 'findings', Land of my Father', and 'forest'. All black and white. No wacky colours or manipulation. I was disappointed with the response. Disheartened even. I later shared the same draft book with my artist colleagues at Rye Creative Centre. Unlike the assessor they were incredibly positive. They encouraged me to get it finished. Who to believe? What to do? I thought about this for a while, and then decided that the book should go ahead regardless of the assessment process. I need to get it out of my system, once and for all. I asked myself why achieving the FRPS matters. I think it boils down to a sense of pride. It shouldn't matter. Either people like my work or they don't. Their feelings about it should not be affected by the letters after my name. For most of my life I have been gathering letters after my name. At some point I should realise that they don't make my life richer. I should stop competing with the world, and just be myself..........sometimes colourful. and sometimes dark and moody. It is the learning and the richness that studying brings that matters, not the letters that follow. So for now, I will get the book finished, and stop thinking about making work about litter. I will, of course, continue to pick litter up as I go on my daily travels, as I always do. I wish to get back to beauty and the landscape. Which brings me on to women photographers and camaraderie. Two weekends ago, in a bid to break out of my rut, I signed up to a photo walk with the RPS Women in Photography group. A London photowalk, starting at the National Portrait Gallery. I didn't know any of the participants, but what a really warm and welcoming group they turned out to be. We spent most of the day together, stopping for foody treats along the way. The pastel del nata ( Portugese custard tarts) were particularly special. I had two. We walked together initially, looking for images as we strolled. Slow was the order. Relaxed was the pace. We chatted and explored Covent Garden and Somerset House. I found myself drawn to a topic that has been in the back of my mind for a long time, ever since I took a selfie in a field of sunflowers some years ago in Trelex, Switzerland. Hair. The image above was an accidental capture whilst bending low in a field of sunflowers. To my eye it represents a freedom of spirit, and a lightness of being. I keep a copy of this photograph pinned up on the wall of my studio. As a landscape photographer the topic of hair felt like a big side step. I rarely take portraits of strangers as I never feel that I will use them in any constructive way. But this was a day to be different, and the urge that I was barely aware of surfaced as we walked through the crowds. So many beautiful women. So much well tended hair. In the low March sunshine it glowed and shone. I started following people from behind, capturing them when they stopped for a moment. Almost no faces, so no loss of privacy on their part. I saw the hair as a landscape. Rivers and gardens. Colours and shapes. No litter. A therapeutic refresh. I remembered capturing Japanese girls dressed in traditional costume for the autumn leaf celebrations. Such attention to detail. My hair never gets that much attention. The more I walked, the more I enjoyed the moments of capture. I might even go back for some more. I don't care that this isn't abstract landscape photography, or what poeple think about these images. What I care about is the fact that I enjoyed making the images, and what they might mean going forward. I would like to give a massive thanks to Gabrielle Motola for leading us so gently into the street, and to all the women from the RPS Women in Photography group for their company and camaraderie.
0 Comments
Be grateful for small things. That is my new motto. As more and more is taken away from us due to Covid-19, it is the little things that matter. My other half (OH) and I have been holed up together for a very long time, and a chance to make a trip to London to see the Summer exhibition at the Royal Academy was a rare treat. Our tickets had been previously cancelled due to lockdown, so this trip was all the more anticipated by our culture starved selves. So on a rainy December Monday we crept up to London on the quiet mid day train, walked the empty streets of Picadilly, and made our way around the exhibition in our masks. The first work that caught my eye was a collage. Frida Orupabo is a Nigerian-Norwegian; one of several invited black artists on show. I had to do some research to fully understand what Frida was trying to convey. According to her website; 'Frida Orupabo is a sociologist and artist living and working in Oslo, Norway. Her work consists of digital and physical collages in various forms, which explore questions related to race, family relations, gender, sexuality, violence and identity.' Heavy stuff for starters. Race and politics. I had been attracted to it as I was thinking about collage, and how so much can be said with a few pieces of paper reaaranged on a page. OH had already disappeared off to view the galleries at his own pace. Conscious that 'lunchtime' was the most important item on his agenda I resolved to move at a reasonable pace, and stop only at those works that really caught my eye. It was a treat to have so much room to view. The galleries never felt crowded, and I felt completely safe. The fact that the following day we were thrown into Tier 4 made me realise how lucky we were to have made the trip. Legs caught my eye next. No frame; just some photos stuck to the wall. As a conceptual artist Hans-Peter sells similar works for $20,000, so he is doing something right. Further research about him led me to another work of his that confirmed a dry sense of humour; something I cannot resist... In 2010 he won the Guggenheim Hugo Boss art prize. He celebrated by pinning the £100,000 prize onto the gallery walls as 100,000 $1 notes, raising questions about the value of art. It was good to see paintings by Fred Cuming from the Rye area and Camber Sands. His work is immediately identifiable to me after getting to know it in local Rye galleries. He visited my studio on an open studio visit a few years ago, and is a truly charming gentleman who has a way with clouds..... I particularly enjoyed his painting of a February peasmarsh landscape, with its low wintry light. I also fell in love with a series of works by Cornelia Parker RA. These were a series of polymer gravure etchings based on the shadows of simple objects such as flowers and household objects, captured on light senstive paper. OH had 'done' the show in the blink of any eye. His favourite was a work ' where you can see what it is.....' I have no problem with that. It seems a lot of other visitors felt the same way, There were a lot of dogs and portraits. My favourite portraits were pencil drawings of cardboard faces by Russell Herron. I had to get really close to see that thses were drawings and not cardboard collages. Sadly all sold. I was also taken with a dog portrait by Ilona Arndt. He had so much more character than the standard labrador poses. But lunch was beckoning.... there was too much to take in, as always. Different galleries had very different characters. I enjoyed this quiet monochrome corner. But if I had been allowed to take one work home it would have been a newspaper boat made of stone. A playful sculpture. A reminder of childhood days spent by the sea. Dreams of adventure. I forgot to record who made it, so apologies for that. Looking at the Curator's selection I realise that there is so much work that I didn't even look at.
It is an overwhelming exhibition always. But for one who had not looked at any new art for several months it was a welcome diversion, and a reminder that everyone has different taste. Lunch was good! |
Caroline Fraser - an ordinary life
on life, suburban living, art, creativity, photography, book art and travel. Categories
All
Archives
October 2024
This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of Cookies |
Welcome to Caroline Fraser Photography
Colourful abstracted and traditional photographic landscapes, book art and workshops. Capturing the moods and beauty of nature whether in wild open places or in small sanctuaries in suburbia. |